![]() ![]() Even when the story turns harsh, even murderous, kindness isn’t far away. ![]() He has doubts about who that man is, but he derives warmth and satisfaction from people saluting his individuality-welcome to the democracy of the outback. Young Dickens adapts rapidly, perhaps conveniently, but you have to admire his insistence that he has none of his father’s gifts, which stands in for the wish to be taken as his own man. ![]() To that, add what it means to be a family outcast in a country settled by outcasts. You have the usual themes, such as sexual awakening, learning to adjust abstract morals to real-life circumstances, and how to judge another person in his or her fullness, allowing for imperfections. Talk about great expectations and a name he can’t live up to: Everyone he meets seems to have memorized his father’s works and supposes he’s done the same, when, in fact, he’s never read a word.įrom this ingenious premise, Keneally spins a delightful, often hilarious, wide-ranging coming-of-age novel. In 1868, Edward Dickens, the tenth, ne’er-do-well child of the famous author, emigrates to Australia at age sixteen to learn the sheep business. ![]()
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